Storage heaters

[mumof3boys33]

We are buying a large 4 bed house, built early 1980's. Perfect in every way apart from one thing...it has storage heaters. Has anyone changed their old storage heaters for another form of electric heating that is energy efficient? There is no mains gas in the area. We think putting in oil fired heating system will cost an absolute fortune. Plus all the floors would have to come up. The current owners say they were going to change the heating but they really like the heaters so kept them (how true that is I don't know) their electric bill is double ours, obviously they don't have the oil cost like us, so that needs factoring in.
I just wondered if there is a good solution. Any ideas appreciated.

Any form of all-electric heating is expensive in my experience but storage heaters can be used efficiently enough especially if supplemented in the evenings with a log burner, though that works best in a smallish house.
Even old heaters should have thermostats - my heaters are switched on now but don't come on as it's mild. I adjust the input settings over the season and the output settings over the course of the day if necessary. Newer ones do this automatically.
Storage heaters are very reliable, rarely break down and can be set differently for different rooms. I suppose you need to compare the costs of installing a whole new heating system to the projected savings you would make over a number of years.
If I were you and had a log burner as well I probably wouldn't bother with any changes - but I'm fairly lazy and happy to layer up when cold (not that I am very often).

Storage heaters are dreadful. And in a large house I can't imagine how inefficient and expensive they would be. I wouldn't touch a house where I couldn't have gas central heating. I think I'd look for a different house. But if you are set on the house can't you get the price reduced to help you with the installation of the oil CH.

I've had storage heaters in a 2 bedroom flat. Electric bills were £150 pcm. I was cold all the time it really got me down in the end. My dd slept with me all the time I thought it was an attachment thing but she completely stopped when we moved somewhere with gas central heating. Stay clear.

No one round here has gas heating. No gas in the countryside. We currently have oil. (Unless via a gas bottle) We've been looking for a house a long while. Everything else is perfect. Location is brilliant too. Contracts about to exchange. So there's no turning back now.
Yes there is a log burning stove in the living room.

We did knock £25k off the price. But I think oil heating will be way more. A friend just had a new boiler and that alone was £20k there would be all the radiators, pipes and labour on top. If we have to pay that we will.
But I wondered if there is another option. I've been told German electric radiators are good.

I know in NZ they have these massive wall heaters that blast out hot air. But I've never seen them in this country. And a lot of wood burners too which heat hot pipes. But no piped gas afaik.

I know you're not in NZ. It's been a long day.

An electric heater is an electric heater wherever it comes from and does the same job...but storage heaters are on Economy 7 circuits so take advantage of the cheaper night rate, whereas the other rads don't, so I don't see how they can be cheaper. I think the German ones sell themselves on spurious claims of being more efficient and they are more flexible - you can turn them on whenever, but of course that's really expensive. Many people I know with storage heaters don't use them efficiently, hence high costs and cold evenings.

Maybe look at the problem from a different POV? Accept that there will be a slight life-style change and you won't be able to wander around in t-shirt and shorts in mid-winter. Like pretty well everyone I know when growing up, we had an open fire in the sitting room, and a rayburn in the kitchen, this kept the most used rooms warm and comfortable. Throw in storage heaters to keep the rest of the house a least a bit warm, then the only room that really needs addressing is the bathroom - underfloor heating?

We're in a midterrace in London with only storage heaters and our electric is quite cheap we find, 83£ pm. Also have no real problems with it being cold, we even removed all non storage heaters on the first floor last year as we never used them.

Granted, they ain't pretty.

I love storage heaters. Not as good as gas fired boiler, if you can access it, but fine if you can't.

My parents have it, I had it.

You have to learn how to live with it. Worst thing- you can't throw open the windows to air the house in mid winter, and then warm it up afterwards. You turn it all off to go on holiday and will be cold the day you get back. That's what the log burner is for.

Keep the output low so there is still heat left in the evenings. Use your log burner if there is a really cold spell.

It's clean, tidy... you can replace one of the heaters for a more modern one, if you like that do the rest. My parents have had them for nearly 30 years now without replacing them.

Rural storage heaters here. Although you may find some are convector heaters in diguise. We actually only have 2 storage in hall and two in living room and dome controls are broken.

Get used to rhe cold. Mind you does not help that the previous owner laid cold ceramic floor tiles on the ground floor . We use the log burner a lot but we have free wood. Heaters go on around december off by march. Plastic sole slippers, blankets and layers are our friends. Walking round in t shirts in december is a bit 'wrong' imo anyhow.

We have Quarterly bills and he one for that period is usually £400 or so compated to £150- £200 rest of year. However southern have raised prices for first time in 5 years recently so this will increase.

We are actually thinking of changing to panel heaters which would be much more efficient and less fugly as we are out of the house 9-5 but will need a meter upgrade to get off economy 11 and i cant face it this year.

We bought because we liked the house. So if you like the house then go for it.

Look in to air to water heat pumps. Still electricity fed but for every kWh you out in, you'll get 3 to 4 kWh out.

Ok thanks everyone. We currently have oil heating and in winter only have it on an hour in the morning and an hour at night. 2 hours at night if really cold. We have a log burner in the living room, which is on every evening when cold and I have an Aga in the kitchen which is in all year round. So our house now is very warm. Too warm a lot of the time with the Aga. So I am going to miss the warmth. As far as I can remember I don't think there were any heaters in the bathrooms in the new place. We will give the storage heaters a go this winter. But I think we may have to invest in oil next year.
Yes they do look ugly. Also they make it difficult for furniture. 2 of my boys will be downsizing rooms and I can't see where the beds will go. The storage heater prevents 2 walls being used, the third wall has a really big window and the last wall is near the door, so no room for a bed 😩
The storage heaters really did put me off, but ours is sold and nothing else is suitable. The older children are in year 9 and 13 so I don't want to change schools. Something had to give in our search. It was a choice of another house close to a main road with small garden, or right back away from road (we are back off road currently) with a nice big garden but with storage heaters. We can change the heaters but can't change the garden or main road.

Could you move the heaters to under the windows?
(I have a storage heated directly behind the head of my metal framed bed, originally thought it would be intolerable and would have to move it but actually it's nice and cosy - only drawback is the cats think so too so curl up on either side of my head on cold mornings...)

Yes I guess they can be moved if needed.

I've just had a phone call about air source heaters. Apparently they work well alongside storage heaters, and are eligible for that grant business.

That's interesting pickle. Thanks.